(Above image caption) “Corrina Wesley and Makiah Holmes enjoy a fun splash in the triple jump sand.”
Mansfield’s senior girls track team was supposed to run at Greenwood later in the spring. A scheduling conflict by the Bulldogs moved their home meet to March 13, a day before Mansfield was to attend the Paris Eagle Invitational. So, not wanting to lose a meet, Mansfield sent a small lineup to the Bulldog’s newly remodeled track for a couple of runs.
Purposely avoiding a high volume of events, Mansfield competed in a selection of field events and races. The idea was to shake out the cobwebs and ready for the Eagle Classic the next day.
Weather halted those best laid plans as Paris ended up canceling their annual showdown on March 14 because of frigid temperatures.
Mansfield did however get in some competition at the Bulldog review. Namely high jumpers Eden Jones and Audrey Walker capitalized by going one-two in the vertical discipline.
Jones won with a 4’ 10” clearance. Walker was second at 4’ 8”. Teammate Haylee Buckner cleared 4’ 4” but was left off the tally sheet due to limitation rules.
“It was good to see Eden get a chance to just concentrate on high jump without all those races before hand,” commented Coach John Mackey. “Her form is coming around after a long layoff from last season’s injury.”
Walker enrolled in a couple of other events as the second year hurdler wanted to get reps. The strategy seemed to be productive as the senior took second in the 300m intermediates and fifth in the 100m highs.
Junior Megan Rose took on a lighter load than usual with a two event slate. The distance guru ran a 6:24 mile and a 3:05 half mile for her night’s competition. She scored fourth in the first and ninth in the second.
Fellow junior Corrina Wesley took fifth in the triple jump while first time triple jumper Makiah Holmes experimented with the horizontal hop.
“Makiah can do a lot of things,” said Mackey. “We just don’t want to leave any stone unturned before we set the district roster. This was another experiment that I think went well.”
Holmes measured nearly 26 feet for her first landing into the triple jump sand. Wesley scored fifth with a mark of 27’ 5”.
Faith Schwartz and Emily Parish competed in the pole vault. The Tiger pair went second and third with jumps of 7’ 6” and 7’ 0” respectively.
Mansfield will resume their intended schedule by hosting a home meet on March 28. The 13th Annual Tiger Relays will welcome area teams from Arkansas and Oklahoma. Staring time is scheduled for 4:00 PM.